


Every Stumble and Each Misfire

by meggidarling



Series: Our Daughter 'Verse [6]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Big Brother Oliver, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 02:51:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12355947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggidarling/pseuds/meggidarling
Summary: And now here Eliza sat, a weak explanation about Uncle Hartley needing some help with something, but Da would only be a few days. Eliza put on a brave face, not wanting to let her fathers know that she knew that something wasn’t right. She pressed a kiss to her Da’s cheek and promised to be a good girl for Daddy and Papa. She pretended not to notice the deep-set frowns on all their faces.\\Mick decides he needs some time to think. It's pretty rough on everyone.//





	Every Stumble and Each Misfire

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Good Grief by Bastille.
> 
> A BIG thank you to Kala for helping me plan not only this story but 6 others for the next few months!
> 
> Enjoy!

Eliza may be young, but she wasn’t dumb. She knew that something wasn’t right between her Da, her Daddy and her Papa. It was a few weeks after her birthday and even the 5-year-old could tell that something wasn’t right. Her Da and her Daddy had been avoiding each other for a few days, only speaking when Eliza was around, and even then, it was brief and short. It was clear they weren’t necessarily angry but something was off. 

Eliza’s fears were confirmed when her Da told her that he was going to spend a few days with Uncle Hartley. He didn’t say why, but Eliza guessed it had something to do with the yelling that she heard the night before between her Da and Daddy.  
~*~  
She couldn’t make out all the words, because it was clear her parents were trying to keep it down, but she heard some parts when she snuck out of her bed to press her ear to the door. She could even see a little bit through the cracked door.

“You’re just looking for danger, Mick! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Are you trying to get all of us killed?” Len growled. He was standing close to Mick, chests nearly touching, with his hands clenched at his sides. If Barry didn’t know any better, he’d think Len was about to take a swing at Mick, but Len would never, not with his past. 

“It’s not that serious, Len.” Mick said, his jaw clenched. “No one knew who I was.”

“Not that serious? Mick, you know what criminals do! They attack their enemy’s family! How could you put Barry or Eliza in danger like that?” Len was nearly shouting now, trying to keep it down. 

“Oh, don’t you dare accuse me of putting any of you in danger! I would never do that to someone I cared about!” Mick whisper-shouted back

“You wouldn’t? Not even Lisa, so you could use her against me?” Len said back, voice now cold and calculating.

“Don’t use my time as Chronos against me! You have no clue what that was like for me because you left me!” Mick nearly roared. 

“I didn’t want to, Mick! The last thing I EVER wanted to do was leave you!”

“Then why did you?” Mick got even closer to Len, so close their noses were almost touching. 

Eliza’s Papa was crying, soft sobs that she could just barely hear over her Da and Daddy. “Mickey, Lenny, please. Ellie might hear you.” He had said, his voice thick with tears. “She already knows something isn’t right, she doesn’t need to see any of us like this.”

That quieted Mick and Len down. “You’re right, Scarlet. We didn’t mean to upset you and we definitely don’t want to wake up Eliza.”

It was silent for a moment, before Mick spoke up. “I think I need to stay with Hartley for a few days-“ Mick was cut off by another sob from Barry and a pained sound from Leonard. “Not for long! Just a night or two. I have a lot of thoughts and it’s clear that I’m not expressing them in the right way. None of us are. I don’t want to yell and I don’t want to fight.” 

There was a little bit more silence before Len sighed. “I think that’s a good idea, Mick. I think we all need a few days to understand our own thoughts and how to express them.”

It was Barry who spoke next, moving to take Mick’s hand. “Okay. But promise me two things, please Mickey.”

Mick pressed a kiss to Barry’s knuckles. “Anything for you, Red.”

Barry gave Mick a watery smile. “Wait until the morning, give Eliza a proper explanation. And please, Mick, don’t stay away a second longer than you need to. I can’t bear to be without the two of you for too long.” 

“I won’t be too long, Barry. I promise.” Mick let out a breath. “God, what am I going to tell Eliza?”

Len shook his head. “I don’t know, Mick. But we’re in this together. She’s our daughter.” 

“Do you want me to sleep in the guest room?” Mick asked. 

Barry looked away. “Whatever you want to do, Mickey. Do whatever you need.” 

The older man gave a Len and Barry’s hand a squeeze before he headed towards the door. “I’ll see you in the morning. I love you both.”

Before Eliza could hear her Papa and Daddy’s responses, she realized that they shouldn’t see her, so she took off back to her room and pretended to be asleep.  
~*~

And now here Eliza sat, a weak explanation about Uncle Hartley needing some help with something, but Da would only be a few days. Eliza put on a brave face, not wanting to let her fathers know that she knew that something wasn’t right. She pressed a kiss to her Da’s cheek and promised to be a good girl for Daddy and Papa. She pretended not to notice the deep-set frowns on all their faces. 

She pretended that everything was fine at dinner that night, even though it was nearly silent. She still chattered away about her day at school, even though she wasn’t really getting any response. What she didn’t do, however, was ask to go pumpkin picking tomorrow, even though she really wanted to. She knew that that was Da’s favorite thing, and she didn’t want to upset her Papa and Daddy. 

The next morning was even quieter, even though Papa did his best to make Da’s usual Saturday morning breakfast. He tried to distract Eliza from the fact that her Daddy was locked in his office. 

During the afternoon, Barry realized that he could not distract Eliza on his own, so he decided to call in the big guns.

“Uncle Ollie!” Eliza called, running into the blonde man’s arms. “What are you doing here?”

The man scooped her up, a large smile on his face. “Hello to you too, Ellie.” 

Barry walked up to his friend and gave him a pat on the back. “Thank you for coming, Ollie. I really appreciate it.”

Oliver nodded. “It’s no problem, Barry. Now, let’s get this little one to the park.” 

Oliver insisted on driving to the park rather than flash over there, which Barry agreed to. Eliza was strapped in a booster seat in the back, babbling happily to Oliver about her past week at school. Oliver nodding along, asking questions when needed.

Once they got to the park, Eliza was off in a flash of pink and red to the nearest swing. Taking a seat with a clear view of her, Oliver turned to face Barry.

“So what’s going on, Bear?” 

It took everything in Barry not to break down in his mentor’s arms. “I’m not entirely sure, Ollie. Len and Mick fight sometimes, but it hasn’t been this bad since I’ve gotten together with them.”

Oliver nodded, resting his hand on Barry’s shoulder. “What triggered this one?”

“Mick was getting restless, putting himself into dangerous situations. Bar fights, Family wars, that kind of stuff.” Barry took a deep breath. “Len was worried it would get back to me and Eliza, but Mick was as careful as he could be. He didn’t use his weapon, didn’t show his face. Mick is smart and he cares about us, he just doesn’t always thing everything completely through.”

“And I’m guessing Len told him all that?” Oliver asked.

Barry nodded. “For the first time that I’ve seen, Len lost his cool. He yelled at Mick, something he hates doing. He hates yelling, period. Reminds him too much of Lewis. But he was mad, got in Mick’s face, asked him what he was going to do if one of us got hurt because he pissed off the wrong Family.”

Barry paused for a moment, watching as Eliza happily played on the swings, playing with one of her classmates that happened to be there. 

“Len brought up something that happened while they were off with the Legends. I don’t know a whole lot, only what I can pick up from the things they cry out when they’re having a nightmare.” Barry could feel the tears welling up. “But I do know that Mick was tortured into something evil, and threatened Lisa. He hurt Lenny. It turns out he was being controlled, but no one knew at first.” 

Oliver was silent for a moment, only rubbing small circles on Barry’s back. “Based on what I know about Mick and Len, they’re both blaming themselves and shutting out the world?”

Barry let out a watery laugh. “Yup.”

Before Oliver could respond, Barry’s phone rang. “Hello?”

“Barry!” Len sounded relieved. “Are you with Eliza?” 

“Yeah, we went to the park with Oliver. Did you not see my note on the counter?” 

Barry hears some shuffling. “Oh. I’m sorry, Barry. For everything.”

“It’s okay, Len. We’ll see you when we get back?”

“I love you, Scarlet.”

Barry’s heart fluttered at that and a smile crossed his face. “I love you too, Lenny.”

Barry looked at Oliver to see his friend grinning like an idiot. “What?”

“I think everything will be okay, kid.”

And Barry believed him.

They came back a freshly made dinner and a happier Len. He pressed a kiss to Barry’s lips before he scooped up Eliza and gave Oliver a firm handshake. “Hey, Robin Hood. How’s the family?”

Oliver smiled. “They’re okay. Now what’s for dinner?”

Len smirked. “The best noodle kugel you’ve ever had.” 

Even though this was the happiest they had seen Len in a few days, both Eliza and Barry could tell at least part of it was forced. He still glanced at Mick’s usual seat a few too many times and frowned every time he did. 

Even Oliver noticed, and after a while, he felt like he was intruding on a personal moment. He excused himself a little while after dinner with a promise to come back soon with William and the rest of the team.

After Eliza was put to sleep, Len and Barry stayed up, curled up in bed. 

“I feel like this is my fault, Barry. If I hadn’t pushed him…”

Barry shushed him by giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “You were just scared, Len. And exhausted. We had that fight after a few hours of saving the city. And Mick was making some risky decisions. Maybe none of us expressed it in the right way, but emotions were running high.”

Len smiled weakly at that, pressing a kiss to Barry’s forehead. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Barry chuckled. “I think you and Mick robbed a very rich couple of a very expensive painting.”

“Oh yeah.”

And with that, the pair fell asleep. They missed Mick like crazy but at least they had each other.

~*~  
Len’s eyes shot open at 7 when he heard some sounds downstairs. Maybe it was all his time living with his dad, or his time in prison, or being a father, but he has always been a light sleeper. He quickly untangled himself from Barry, grabbed the mini Cold Gun from the safe and crept downstairs.

He snuck around the corner, gun at the ready, but froze when he heard a familiar voice quietly singing.

“Mick?” 

Mick dropped the pan he was holding, swearing quietly. “Jesus, Lenny, you scared me.”

“Sorry, Mickey.” 

Mick smiled at him. “It’s okay, boss. Do you think I woke up Eliza or Barry?”

Len smiled. “Eliza, definitely not. Oliver was here last night, so she was up late. Barry though-” 

Before Len could finish, Mick had an armful of tall, gangly speedster “Mickey!” 

Hey, Red.” Mick smiled, pressing a kiss to Barry’s cheek. 

Apparently, a kiss on the cheek wasn’t enough, because Barry soon pressed their lips together. 

Mick pulled away first, a large grin on his face. “All right, all right. I was gone like two days.”

Barry looked down and blushed. “Sorry, Mick.” 

“That’s okay, Red. But let’s make some pancakes. I’m sure Eliza will be up soon.” 

Together, they moved in perfect sync, as if they hadn’t been separated. As they cooked, they talked everything out. Mick and Len apologized and promised to try to express their feelings more openly and with less yelling. Barry agreed to help them talk everything out if he thought they needed help. Everything was settled by the time Eliza came downstairs. 

“Da!” She screeched, launching herself into Mick’s arms. “You’re home.”

“I am, Little Spark. I missed you. Were you good for Daddy and Papa?” 

Eliza nodded rapidly. “Of course, Da!” 

“Good, Little Spark. Do you want a blueberry pancake or a chocolate chip pancake?”

“Can I have both? Please?”

Mick chuckled. “Of course, dear.” 

The rest of the day was spent watching movies and playing board games, just the four of them. Eliza was happy to have her Da back and to see her Papa and Daddy truly happy again. She told Mick so when he read her bedtime story that night.

“I’m glad to be back, Little Spark. I love you.”

“I love you too, Da.” And with that, Eliza was fast asleep.

Mick crawled into bed in between Barry and Len. Barry and Len linked hands around him, locking him in a loving embrace.

“You know I’d do anything for you two or our daughter, right?” Mick asked after a while of silence. His voice portrayed the insecurity he was trying to hide.

“Of course, Mick. We just want you to be careful.” Len said.

“I don’t know what we would do without you. Mick.” Barry continued.

“If I can help it, neither you or our daughter will have to find out.”

**Author's Note:**

> Len makes kugel because that's what my whole family does when they're stressed (myself included).
> 
>  
> 
> Again, a huge thank you to Kala!
> 
> Until next time...


End file.
